Innovative In-Tunnel Advertising

In-tunnel advertising is a great creative and innovative advertising idea.

An in-tunnel advertising system consists of series of back-lit poster images to create the illusion of a motion picture advertisement screened in the train carriage window. These posters with consecutive frames of a movie are hanged out next to each other on the wall of the underground’s tube. When metropolitan train passes them by, they form a marvellous video sequence in the train carriage window.

This was hardly innovative, even in 2007. I remember watching animation advertising in the tunnels of the Montreal subway on the way to our World’s Fair, way back in 1967: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Metro

I invented this concept in the early 90s and, with my friend, sent the details to the head of London underground advertising, was told it wouldn’t work but thanks and saw it in the Sunday Times about 2 years later, I’m pretty sure my idea was stolen and passed on, did try to contact eh “inventor” but did not receive a reply, I have copies of the original correspondence but suppose I’ll just have to live with being ripped off. I believe the original investors lost a lot so maybe that’s justice.

Sorry to disillusion you Bobg, but this technology was used way before you “invented” it. Many thousands of Montrealers and tourists remember it being used in our new Metro system as they made their way to Expo67, our World’s Fair in 1967. I remember being enraptured as I watched animated cartoon characters moving along the walls of the tunnels. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Metro#Pioneer_in_tunnel_advertising

I’m delighted to know that but why did it take so long for someone to try to commercialise the concept? As far as I know MOTIONPOSTER based in London were the first company to try to make money out of the idea and they claimed it had been invented by a professor from around Oxford. It then seemed to pass to SIDETRACK in CANADA, a video on their website showed a different “inventor” claiming to have had the idea while watching cables in a tunnel in Paris, this was part of my letter around 10 years earlier but was when I was on the London undergroun. Anyway it’s all irrelevant if the concept was used in Montreal in 1967 and I can rest easy.